[ by Melanie Gretchen and Howard Haykin ]

Allen Stanford's Ponzi victims lost an estimated $7 billion investing with the Stanford Financial Group, that featured an offshore bank based in Antigua.  Since 2009, when the SEC shut down the Texas financier's business, investors, attorneys, and regulators have fought over Stanford frozen assets - whatever is left of them - that's located in Canada, Switzerland, and the U.K.  So far, none of the 28,000 investors have recovered any money.  A request in 2012 to distribute $55 million never received court approval, while another $700 million has been stuck in litigation.

Distribution on the Horizon.   On Tuesday, it was jointly announced by the U.S. court-appointed receiver and Antigua court-appointed liquidators that a $300 million distribution would probably be made later this year.  That decision was reached in a 5-country multi-national agreement - with the SEC and DOJ participating.  Court approval is required and, while the sum is less than 5% of total losses, at least it's a start.  Under terms of the agreement, the distribution would go directly to investors, rather than to the IRS or the Antiguan government. 

Meanwhile, the lead perpetrator of the Ponzi scheme, Allen Stanford, 62, resides comfortably in prison, following his conviction on fraud in March 2012.  He is one year into a 110-year prison sentence that Stanford's lawyers have appealed.

For further details, go to [CNBC, 3/12/13].